This invention relates generally to seat belts and, more particularly, to a restraining device for securing a child safety seat to a plurality of automobile anchors.
Car seats for infants and toddlers may be secured to an automobile seat with traditional seat belts or, preferably, by utilizing the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system in newer model cars. Unfortunately, the LATCH system is often not understood by parents or caregivers or is not installed and used properly. Even when used, the traditional system, by itself, does not provide a desired level of safety or user-friendliness. Various devices have been proposed in the art for connecting to the LATCH system, such as with hooks and straps. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, it is often difficult for users to tighten the straps or to determine when the straps are tight enough.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a restraining device for properly and safely securing a child safety seat to a plurality of automobile anchors. Further, it would be desirable to have a restraining device that enables a user to incrementally tighten the straps of the restraining device. In addition, it would be desirable to have a restraining device having a tension gauge that indicates when the straps have been sufficiently tightened.